Changing Course
by darthtenebrosius
Summary: It was like any other day, until Evan fell onto Tatooine. How will he manage to survive in the GFFA, and if he can get home, will he want to go? What damage will his presence do? Abandoned :( Sorry guys.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Hi there! This is my first story. I am making this up as I go along - I only have a very loose plot idea. OC!Earthling Star Wars Insert, in case it isn't obvious. Enjoy! Read & Review ;p_

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 _Hot._

That was Evan's first thought as he woke, followed closely by _Ouch._

The rocks dug into Evan's back, pressing uncomfortably against his spine. Sunlight, piercingly bright, beat down on him, warming his face and body, visible even through his eyelids. Evan winced as he opened them, raising a hand to shield himself from the painfully intense light. Sitting up, Evan looked around. He was rewarded with the sight of sand and rocks as far as the eye could see, stretching into the distance on all sides of him. _How did I get here?_

Suddenly, he remembered.

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"… Yeah, sounds good. I'll see you this afternoon? Okay, bye."

Evan put his mobile phone on the arm of the sofa and stretched out across the cushions. It felt _wonderful_ to have finally finished with school exams, _forever_. He could sit in front of the TV without feeling a nagging sense of guilt, he could see his friends whenever he liked, for as long as he liked, he could lie in bed all day if he –

"Evan Aloysius Clarke! Are you going to laze around on the sofa all day, or are you going to do something useful? Get off your lazy backside and help me with this shopping!"

Evan sighed, and muttered under his breath, "I _hate_ that name."

"What was that, Evan?"

 _She couldn't have heard me say that, she's two rooms away. She couldn't have heard me say that, she's two rooms away._ "Coming, Mum!"

He extricated himself from the sofa, a task made harder by the way it seemed all the more inviting now that he was trying to leave it. Grabbing his phone on the way, he walked out of the living room to the hall. Pausing only to slip on his trainers, he jogged out the door and to the car, the boot of which was open and stuffed with bags full of shopping. Evan caught sight of his mother disappearing round the side of the house to use the door directly into the kitchen, her arms full of plastic Tesco bags. He quickly gathered up four bags and staggered with them to the kitchen door, where he deposited them. _How does she manage to fill these up with such heavy stuff without them splitting?_ he wondered. Evan turned around and walked, somewhat more slowly this time, down the side of the house. However, before he reached the car, he noticed a flash of dusty yellow out of the corner of his eye.

Curious, Evan turned and saw something completely out of place in his neighbourhood, with its manicured gardens, carefully kept green and trimmed. A cliff edge, covered in sand, had somehow appeared between the two houses on the opposite side of the road, which made no sense as the land in the suburb was flat for several roads in all directions. Rocks stuck out of the sand at odd angles, and he could see a yellow vista beyond the precipice that was definitely _not_ what the rest of the area looked like. Rapid footsteps sounded behind him.

"Evan, what on earth are you standing around like that for? The car is over _there_."

Evan kept his eyes on the sandy cliff edge.

"Mum, do you see that? Between Number Fifteen and Number Seventeen?"

The sounds of bags rustling paused briefly, then resumed.

"Oh, the Lexus? I think belongs to Susan's brother. He's visiting her for the weekend."

Footsteps went past him back towards the house.

"Bags! Bring! Now!"

Evan rolled his eyes and trudged back to the car.

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"Mum, I'm going out!"

Evan paused, but there was no response. He shrugged and opened the door, looking across the road. The cliff was still there, and he was certain that he wasn't seeing things. He looked at his watch; three o'clock. Plenty of time before he needed to get to the restaurant to meet his friends. He could just walk over and take a closer look.

Evan jogged across the road, stopping at the point where the pavement ended and the sand began. He peered at the cliff – it looked solid, and the view beyond remained a desert broken only by shimmering heat haze. Tentatively, he stretched out a foot, and then brought it down on the sand. It felt completely normal, like the sand at any beach. Evan walked forward, until he was about halfway between the pavement and the edge of the cliff. He stopped there and looked over the edge. It appeared surprisingly peaceful down below. There was nothing but sand and rock in sight for miles.

Abruptly a cracking sound tore through the silent air. Evan turned quickly to look at the road, but couldn't see anything. A deeper scraping noise arose, and a jagged line began to appear on the ground between Evan and the road. The whole cliff juddered, and Evan suddenly realised – the cliff was breaking! He began to run, trying to make it back to the road, but before he could take more than a few steps there was an even louder rumble, and he felt the ground beneath his feet begin to fall, with him on it. The wind rushed past him, and suddenly everything went black.

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 _A/N: Let me know what you think! I need all the help with my writing I can get. Reviews will also encourage me to write more ;)_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Back with a new chapter. I must say I'm overwhelmed with the fact that since I posted the first chapter I have any follows at all - you guys are great!_

 _To the guest reviewer who asked if Evan will hit Darth Vader over the head with a pipe: that is not currently something I think will happen, but who knows? It might work its way in somehow._

 _I realise that I have not done a disclaimer, so here we go:_

 _IT'S MINE, ALL MINE!_

 _What? I'm talking about these cookies I just made. Star Wars doesn't belong to me, although if it did... *snaps out of it* Here, have a chapter!_

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Obi-Wan Kenobi, known to any acquaintances on this planet as Ben, started in shock. The Force had _shifted_ suddenly, as if something fundamental had changed and nothing would remain as it once was. He settled onto the bench in his hut folded his legs, and opened his mind. The Force flowed around him, flowed through him, and Obi-Wan let himself relax into it, hoping that it would show him what had happened, or at least give him some guidance. His legs uncrossed spontaneously, taking him out of the hut, and his eyes flicked to one point in the distance, then another, further away. Obi-Wan nodded in thanks, and pulled himself out from immersion in the current that was the Force.

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Luke Skywalker raised his eyes from the droid he was working on to see the hermit, Ben Kenobi, stride into the homestead garage. He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything the man walked over to the landspeeder.

"Luke, I need to borrow the landspeeder. Tell your uncle that I will return it by tomorrow at the latest."

Luke shook his head.

"I can't let you just take it – Uncle Owen would have a fit. Besides, he doesn't like you – he's always saying you're no good."

Ben smiled wryly.

"Believe me, he will understand. And it's not me personally he doesn't like, it's what I represent." He paused. "You can come with me, if you like, to make sure the speeder is fine…"

Luke put down his tools and looked straight at Ben. "Do you even know how to pilot a speeder? You always go around on that old eopie. I'll need to come with you to make sure you can start it correctly."

Ben appeared to stifle a laugh, but nodded and gestured toward the landspeeder. "Hop aboard then, my young friend. We must hurry if we are to get there before the Sand People."

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Remarkably, Evan appeared to be in one piece, although his clothes were a little worse for wear. He'd already noticed that there was nothing at the top of the cliff to suggest a way back, and the rock face appeared pretty hard to climb anyway. He turned to look at the flat desert in front of him, and almost lost his balance on the rocks when he caught a glimpse of the _suns_ , plural, casting that burning light on him, before he looked down, blinking away the afterimage. Evan had a sneaking suspicion, even though it seemed impossible, that he knew where he was.

Standing up, Evan picked a direction at random, and began to walk. It wasn't as if anyone was likely to find him at the base of the cliff, and he needed some form of shelter and hopefully water in this blistering heat. His feet sank into the sand far too easily, and each step was an effort, but there was nothing else he could do.

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 _Thirsty._

Evan collapsed onto the hot sand, his energy spent. He'd been walking for what felt like hours, and not seen a sign of civilisation or water in all that time. Sunlight glinted off an object in the distance, and Evan raised a hand, squinting to try and make it out. The object quickly got larger, and Evan could see it appeared to be a vehicle, with two figures in it, one larger and one smaller. A small dust cloud billowed up behind the vehicle, hanging in the still air before slowly settling. As the vehicle drew closer, Evan could see that there appeared to be nothing beneath it. _A landspeeder. A real landspeeder. I'm… I'm on_ Tatooine _!_

The landspeeder stopped abruptly a few yards away, and a sandy-haired boy jumped out and ran over, followed by a man dressed in brown robes, with greying hair and a well-kept beard.

"Are you alright, mister? We came as quickly as we could, and Ben says –"

"Yes, thank you, Luke. That will be enough." The man turned towards him. "Hello there. It is not wise to wander alone, dressed as you are, in the Southern Dune Sea."

Evan just nodded, too tired to put together a sentence.

"Come, my friend. Let us take you somewhere you can rest, and tell us of your journey."

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The landspeeder slowed to a halt outside a low, domed building with a set of steps leading downwards into it, set into the ground. Luke tilted his head at Obi-Wan and asked, "Can I go in now? Uncle Owen will be wondering where I got to."

"Of course, Luke. Go on in, and ask your aunt if it might be possible for two travellers to spend the night."

Luke hopped out of the landspeeder and dashed inside, and Obi-Wan couldn't help but be reminded of another young boy with sandy hair and blue eyes, similarly excitable and… Obi-Wan tore himself away from that train of thought before he could go any further. Instead, he looked at the young man, asleep in the back of the landspeeder, who seemed to have been the cause of the disturbance in the Force. He looked completely unremarkable, and when Obi-Wan tentatively reached out for his mind, there was no answering prod from an untrained Force-sensitive – it was completely open. Before he could ask any guidance from the Force, however, angry footsteps came up behind him. He had only a moment to take in the face of Owen Lars, red with anger, before an accusing finger was thrust into his face.

"What are _you_ doing here, eh? Planting ideas in Luke's head, I'll warrant, with tales of those damned foolish idealistic Jedi and their crusades. I've told you, and I'll say it again, you can keep an eye or whatever you're doing, but do it out of sight and without Luke knowing. It's bad enough he's got questions about his father, without you sticking your nose into it. You should've kept out of it back then, and I'll _thank_ you to keep out of it now."

Obi-Wan stood calmly, his expression peaceful and unmoved by the Lars patriarch's diatribe.

"Luke _will_ have to know, and soon. Things have changed, and this planet is no longer as anonymous a place as it once was. The Empire will be on its way, if it isn't already-" – his eyes flicked once more towards the young man in the landspeeder – "and it is better that Luke is prepared to flee with me than he stay with you, and all of you fall under the direct gaze of Darth Vader or worse, the Emperor himself."

Owen scowled, and spat at Obi-Wan's feet.

"You take him, then, and keep well away. We don't want any of that Jedi business here, understood?"

Obi-Wan nodded gracefully, although inside he wished Owen could have been a little more polite. Some people were just so _uncivilised_. He strode past Owen and inside to fetch Luke, leaving Owen muttering behind him.

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Luke couldn't help but feel that he should have been _sadder_ or something upon leaving his aunt and uncle. Uncle Owen would miss his help when the harvest came, and he was very good at patching up the droids when they broke. He would miss them, he knew, but he couldn't help his excitement when Ben told him that he had been a Jedi Knight during the Clone Wars, and fought in them alongside his father, Anakin Skywalker – not a spice freighter navigator, but also a Jedi! – for several years.

Luke entered the hut behind Ben, who was carrying the man they had found – amazingly still asleep, despite the bumpy journey through the Jundland Wastes to Ben's home. Ben set him down on a bench, and turned to Luke.

"Why don't you put your things over on the side table there, while I wake our friend?"

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 _A/N: This chapter is a bit longer, probably because I'm getting into my stride a little more. Sorry if it seems slow at the moment, but Evan will awake next chapter, and things will hopefully pick up a bit._

 _Thoughts? Stick 'em in the review box just down there. Go on. You know you want to..._


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Here you go! Chapter 3, for your delectation and delight._

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Evan's eyes snapped open, to be met with the view of a white ceiling, slightly arched and somewhat rough. He was lying on a hard, flat surface, and a hand was resting on his shoulder. A face moved into view.

"Hello, my friend. I am Ben, and this is Luke. Could I inquire as to your name?"

Evan pulled himself up into a sitting position and looked around. He was in a building which appeared to be one large room, although it was quite cramped once all the items on the floor were taken into account. Pillars supported the ceiling, and in front of him were Obi-Wan – _No,_ _I should call him Ben_ – Kenobi, older than he had been at the end of Revenge of the Sith, but his hair not yet completely grey, and Luke Skywalker, probably aged about eight or nine.

"…Evan," he replied. Ben smiled kindly.

"A pleasure to meet you, Evan. I shall just go and prepare some food, while you rest here."

It struck him, as Ben moved towards what must have been a kitchen, that he was taking this all remarkably calmly. Shouldn't he have panicked, or insisted that this was all a hallucination? Evan shook his head a little to clear it, and found himself looking straight at Luke, who blinked at him. He could easily see the resemblance between Luke now, and Anakin at the same age. He wondered if, should Vader have, by some quirk of fate, come across Luke in passing, he would have recognised him, or just dismissed it? A pointless train of thought really, as Vader wouldn't meet Luke until the Death Star, and that was a number of years away.

The clatter of a pot on the table roused Evan from his musings.

"Evan, Luke, come eat. I am eager, Evan, to hear the tale of how you came to be in the Southern Dune Sea, far from any settlement, with only the clothes on your back and no water or food to speak of."

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Evan's thoughts raced as he sat down. He was seriously worried that telling the truth could mess up everything – he might let slip that he knew the future, or that he knew that Luke and Leia were brother and sister. On the other hand, would it be so awful to confess these things to Ben? He was a Jedi, and perhaps the only person in this galaxy, other than Yoda, who could help him get home – if that was at all possible.

He made his decision.

"I don't know exactly how I got to Tatooine, but I know I'm not from this galaxy." Ben's eyes widened, but he didn't interrupt. "In my galaxy, there are – oh, you don't know what movies are – sort of holodramas, about this one. The Jedi, and the Sith, and so on. I was just out walking near my house, and I saw this odd cliff. When I went closer, it collapsed, and I ended up here, on Tatooine."

Ben gazed at him, his eyes seeming to see straight through Evan, and Evan realised that Ben knew he had withheld some information. Ben evidently decided not to press it, instead beginning to eat his stew, and offering round some blue milk. Curious about the taste, Evan tried it; the milk was creamy and sweet, soothing his tongue after the hot stew. Luke put down his cutlery and turned his head to Evan.

"So do you know a lot about the Clone Wars, Evan? My father fought in them as a Jedi Knight, and so did Ben!"

Evan looked uncertainly at Ben. His pleasant expression had become somewhat fixed, but he caught himself and smiled at Luke. "Don't pester our guest for stories before he has eaten, Luke. Instead, let me tell you of how your father and I rescued a princess from certain doom…"

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After the meal, Luke went outside to set the autopilot on the landspeeder to take it back to the farm. Ben turned to Evan, his expression somewhat harder.

"What _exactly_ do you know of the events that have come to pass in this galaxy? There are certain things that Luke cannot know – _must not know_ – if he is to fulfil his destiny."

Evan gulped. Ben had obviously realised that Evan might know the true identity of Darth Vader, and Evan could sort of see his point. If he were to reveal that Darth Vader was in fact Anakin Skywalker, he would not only derail the timeline further than his arrival already had, with Ben taking Luke as a Padawan about ten years too early, but he would also irrevocably damage Luke's trust in Ben, if Ben had already told him that Vader had betrayed and murdered his father. On the other hand, that particular manipulation by Ben had led to several tragedies that could have been avoided – and if some of the Expanded Universe was anything to go by, Vader had been absolutely sincere in his offer to Luke in Cloud City, so who was to say that he couldn't have been redeemed earlier?

"I know all the important events of the Clone Wars and a little before. I know what you're asking – I know that Anakin became Vader, and I have to say that I disagree with your decision to withhold that from Luke."

Ben frowned. "It is necessary that Luke remains unaware of Anakin's fate. If he learned the truth about Vader, he would be unable to –"

Evan interrupted angrily. "Who are you to make that decision? Who gave you the right to make a son _kill_ his father unknowingly? Just because you are the only Jedi Master on the scene, you think that you can do that to Luke? I thought the Jedi had _morals_. You're just as bad as –" He stopped himself before he could continue, and changed tack. "And what about Leia? Are you going to let them meet without knowing each other's identity?" Ben let out a gasp of surprise, and as Evan paused for breath, Ben leapt into the gap.

"How much do you _know_? Your knowledge… if anyone found out, you would be in immense danger. We must depart as soon as possible – if the Empire arrives before we go, it will be nigh on impossible to get away. We shall leave for Mos Eisley in the morning. I will go outside and tell Luke that we must retain the landspeeder for a little longer before he sends it back to his uncle." With that, Ben stalked outside, leaving Evan reeling. Why would the Empire be coming to Tatooine? There was no reason for them to come to the unremarkable planet, unless… A terrifying thought struck him. He was the reason that the Empire was coming. His arrival must not have been as irrelevant as he had thought.

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Sheev Palpatine, Emperor of the First Galactic Empire and Dark Lord of the Sith, gazed out from his throne at the kneeling form of Darth Vader.

"Rise, my friend. There is something we must discuss."

Darth Vader stood up and moved towards the dais, stopping at the bottom of the stairs.

"There has been… a development. You shall go to the Tatooine system, and seek out the source of this disturbance."

His apprentice bowed. "Your will is my command, my Master."

Palpatine gestured, and Vader turned and swept out of the throne room. It was so gratifying to have a competent apprentice, strong in the Force, and completely obedient to his will. Vader would find the source of the disruption in the Force, and bring it to him.

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 _A/N: So whaddya think? Let me know by dropping a review. Also, do you guys prefer these shortish chapters at about this frequency, or would a longer chapter every couple of weeks be better?_


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: I'm back! Sorry it's been a bit longer - this chapter was really dragging its heels coming out._

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The landspeeder hummed as it came to a halt in Mos Eisley, and Evan raised his hand to shield his eyes from the ever-blinding sunlight as he got out. The spaceport town was just like it had been in A New Hope, just _more so_. A hundred different types of alien scurried this way and that, a thousand sounds and smells assaulted his ears and nose, and the only thing missing, for which Evan was quite grateful, was a stormtrooper checkpoint.

"Mos Eisley Spaceport. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious."

Evan turned his head toward Ben. Somehow, even with an entirely different set of circumstances taking him and Luke to the place, Ben had uttered the exact same words as he had in A New Hope. He didn't have the time to ponder further, as Ben and Luke began moving through the bustling crowd, and he had to hurry to keep up. Evan caught up with them just as they passed through a doorway into a corridor, where Ben stopped and turned to him and Luke.

"Evan, Luke, remain here. I will enter the cantina and seek out a pilot."

With that, Ben swept through another doorway, leaving Evan and Luke next to a motley collection of droids. Evan was mildly confused for a second, before he remembered how Artoo and Threepio had to be left outside the cantina during A New Hope, because they didn't allow droids. Oviously it was a bad idea for him and Luke to enter the cantina, but what did Ben expect him and Luke to do while they waited? Judging by A New Hope, it could take Ben a considerable amount of time to find a pilot, and he had no idea about how to engage Luke in conversation to pass the time, nor any knowledge of the local geography to find something to do and be certain of his way back. Evan leaned against the wall and put his hands in his pockets. His right hand met a familiar shape, which he pulled out.

"Hey, Luke. This is probably a little primitive – only a two-dimensional screen – but how about I show you some games from my galaxy?"

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After much less time than Evan had expected, Ben returned. He seemed a little surprised to find the two of them eagerly huddled over Evan's phone, but quickly gathered himself.

"I have purchased passage for us on a ship leaving this afternoon, for Naboo. We can travel onwards from there. We should go to the hangar directly, so that we do not need to rush later."

Evan paused the game and looked up at Luke.

"We can continue later, okay?"

Luke grinned. "That would be great!"

Ben smiled, and gestured for them to follow. They walked through several busy streets, passing humans, droids, and aliens, until they finally reached a district with several hangars. Evan was looking forward to seeing the ship. Would it be a passenger transport? A yacht? A smuggler's ship?

They passed through an archway, and Ben stopped.

"Here is our transport."

Evan looked, and saw the unmistakeable shape of the _Millenium Falcon_. How was it possible that the Falcon was on Tatooine, long before Han Solo had ever got his hands on it? And what a _massive coincidence_ … no. It could not be a coincidence, not in this galaxy. This must have been the hand of the Force. He must have shown something of his consternation on his face, or perhaps Ben sensed it in the Force, because he turned to look at him.

"Are you familiar with this ship, Evan?"

Evan hesitated, but knew that Ben would likely sense a lie. "I… it was in one of the holodramas, yes. I was just… surprised to see it here."

Ben seemed to accept what he said, and led them to a small room off the hangar, furnished with some chairs and a small table.

"We shall remain here until Captain Fargil arrives, at which point we will board the _Millenium Falcon_ and he will take us to Naboo."

Evan settled onto a chair. He had been on his feet since they had left the landspeeder, and was glad for a chance to sit down. Luke followed him over, and looked pleadingly at him.

"Okay, Luke, we can continue the game."

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The Imperial Star Destroyer _Exactor_. One point six kilometres of metal and menace, designed to carry the Emperor's troops and strike fear into the heart of the Empire's enemies. It had done that several times over the years; aboard the _Exactor_ , Darth Vader had subdued the Wookiees, hunted down Jedi survivors of Order 66, and other dangers to the Empire. Now, it surged through hyperspace to find and retrieve something that neither Darth Vader nor, it seemed, the Emperor himself had previously encountered.

Darth Vader gazed out at the blue swirls of hyperspace, and contemplated the ship's destination.

" _I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere. Not like here. Here everything is soft and smooth."_

 _Padme looked at the lake, and his hand trailed up her back. Her face turned towards him, but instead of the angelic smile she used to wear, her face was warped by anger._

" _You killed me, and you killed our children! You're a monster. How could I ever have fallen in love with a creature like_ you _?"_

 _He raised his hand, and she fell, choking, but he was also falling, and his limbs were burning, the flames engulfing him –_

His eyes snapped open – when had he closed them? – and he was once more looking out of the viewport. A cold rage built up in him, and he wished that he had been on the bridge, rather than in his private chambers, so he could kill a few of the incompetents there to vent it. Instead, he drew his lightsaber, and settled into the starting stance for his own version of Form V. He channelled his anger into his strikes, his sweeps, pushing himself, trying to get that image of Padme out of his head.

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Quip Fargil always looked forward to returning to the _Millenium Falcon_. Since he'd stolen it from Nilash III with Luufkin, a fellow Rebel, and the ship thief Zenn Bien, he had fallen in love with the ship more and more every day. He was a little annoyed that he had needed to accept passengers and make a detour on his way back to base, but he needed the credits if he wanted to make any sort of upgrades to the beautiful spacecraft that were not essential to the running of the ship. As he entered the hangar, he was greeted by the man – _Ben, that was his name_ – who had bought passage for himself and two others to Naboo.

"Good afternoon. Are we ready to depart?"

Fargil nodded. He had picked up the intelligence he needed earlier that day. According to his informant, the shipyards at Bilbringi would have no Interdictors guarding it for a period of three weeks, during the annual Empire Day parades. There would be no better time to carry out the plan to destroy the shipyards, especially with the extra assurance that Vader, curse his name, would be far away. That meant he only had a month to finish training, to make sure he could time his microjumps perfectly enough to insert into Bilbringi, bypassing the asteroid fields and the Imperial checkpoints there. But none of that was relevant to his passengers, so he just smiled and said, "Are the others here, or will they be arriving separately?"

"Oh, they're here. I'll just get them."

Ben strode off towards the office off the back of the hangar. Fargil shrugged and called after him, "I'll leave the ramp down. When you come in, turn right, then right again to come to the cockpit. I'll be in there, getting the ship ready."

Ben's head moved slightly in acknowledgment, and Fargil sighed internally. Passengers came with their quirks, and this passenger already seemed more quirky than the rest. Just as well it wasn't far to Naboo. He could be rid of them quickly, and then back to base with the good news.

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Evan stared in wonder as he walked up the access ramp, following Ben and Luke. He was actually in the Millenium Falcon! Sure, it didn't belong to Han yet, but it was the same ship, albeit slightly less weathered than it would be in ten years' time. A man was waiting at the top of the ramp.

"Thought I'd show you to your bunks rather than having you wonder around willy-nilly looking for me. Name's Quip Fargil, and I'm captain of this beautiful ship. Follow me, now!"

The man turned and walked off into the interior. Evan glanced at Ben, but he was already steering Luke down the corridor, his hand on his shoulder. Evan followed.

After Quip had given them a brief tour, he left them in the lounge area and headed off to the cockpit, telling them to strap themselves in for takeoff. Evan eagerly sat by the holoboard.

"Luke, you want to teach me dejarik while we wait?"

Luke sat by him and started fiddling with the controls, and Ben also sat with a smile on his face.

"The two of you will rot each other's brains with your games before long, I can see."

The ship gave a slight lurch, but Evan felt no other motion.

"Is that it? Are we off?" he asked Ben, who chuckled.

"Yes, and it is only a short trip to Naboo."

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 _A/N: Don't forget to leave a review in the box right there! More reviews mean more motivation, which will translate to faster updates :D_


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Sorry for the delay! A mixture of cousins descending on us to stay, and this chapter just not wanting to be written, but it's here now. Enjoy!_

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As the _Millenium Falcon_ soared away from Tatooine's gravity well, Obi-Wan stretched out his Force senses. Luke was asleep in the bunkroom, and his presence was constantly masked by his own, so that none of the Emperor's servants could spot him. He turned his mind towards the other person sitting at the table, Evan, and reaffirmed that there was nothing remarkable about his Force presence. _So why would the Force tremble so drastically when he arrived, and yet be absolutely silent about him now?_

"Evan."

The young man looked up. "Yes, Ben?"

"You have been withholding something."

Evan hesitated, and Obi-Wan knew that his hunch was correct.

"Evan, what have you not told me?"

He felt reluctance through the Force, and decided not to push too much. The young man didn't really trust him, and he didn't want to force him into doing something rash.

"If you will not tell me, will you at least tell Master Yoda? He is our ultimate destination."

Evan sighed, and nodded. Obi-Wan smiled warmly, glad that they could come to an agreement, particularly bearing in mind the argument Evan had sparked off after their discussion about Luke.

Quip Fargil chose that moment to enter the lounge area.

"We've made the jump to hyperspace. Make yourselves comfortable."

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Darth Vader turned away from the holo as the two stormtroopers dragged the body of the unfortunate lieutenant out of view. The incompetence of his underlings had resulted in the _Exactor_ arriving at Tatooine… hours after his quarry had left. The Star Destroyer had circled the planet, and Vader had stretched out with his senses, but only found the faint echoes of the Force event which had been his Master's reason for sending him there. Now the dreadnought hung ominously in orbit above Mos Eisley, the place in which the cause of the event had most likely purchased passage offplanet. He turned and stormed from the bridge towards his private chambers. _I will find them! I am strong! I have the Force at my command!_

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"Luke? Come over here."

Evan watched as Luke walked from the doorway to Ben, who reached into his robes and pulled out a metal cylinder, handing it to Luke.

"What is it?"

"Your father's lightsaber. This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or as random as a blaster."

Luke activated the lightsaber, the blue-white blade extending from the hilt, and Evan looked on, amazed at seeing it in the flesh. In the back of his mind, he noted that Ben had once again used the same words he had said in A New Hope – in fact, he was continuing to do so, explaining how the lightsaber was an elegant weapon, and how the Jedi had safeguarded the Republic. Evan ran through the conversation as it went in A New Hope from memory, and before Luke could ask about his father, he shot a look at Ben. Ben raised an eyebrow, but steered the conversation away from the subject, instead offering to teach Luke to begin to use the lightsaber. Evan knew the conversation had only been delayed, but couldn't think of how to explain what had happened to Anakin in a manner satisfactory to both him and Ben. He was roused from his musings by Quip Fargil stepping through the doorway.

"Just a heads-up, folks. We'll be arriving at Naboo soon."

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The _Millenium Falcon_ settled on the landing pad, vents on all sides of the ship expelling gases. The sprawling Theed Spaceport was busy with ships, taking off, loading goods, and landing. Evan followed Quip Fargil to the access ramp, Ben and Luke close behind. As Ben thanked Quip and paid him, Evan and Luke walked down the ramp and gazed out at the view. The lowland floodplains were spread out before them, and Luke's mouth dropped open at the sight of so much greenery. As they turned, Luke gasped as he saw the immense quantities of water in massive waterfalls down the side of the cliff-face behind the spaceport. Ben stepped up behind them.

"These waters are the Virdugo Plunge. They flow through the platform and underground. Come now, we shall find somewhere to eat, and I will obtain passage for the next leg of our journey."

Evan and Luke trailed behind Ben as he led the way through the bustling spaceport, still distracted by the scenery. Eventually, they caught up to Ben. "Have you been here before, Ben?" asked Luke excitedly. A shadow flitted across Ben's face, so quickly Evan thought he might have imagined it. _Of course, if the last time I had been on a planet I saw the only person I had ever known as a father die in front of me while I stood there helpless, I would probably harbour some bad feelings towards the place too._

"Oh, many years ago, Luke. I wonder if… yes, here it is. A wonder of the Force that it is still here; this place is known for its wonderful food, and if the Force is with us, perhaps we shall find someone to take us where we wish to go."

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Evan hurried through Theed Spaceport, looking left and right for the landmarks Ben had told him he should use to find the landing bay. After their meal, Ben had found a Duros willing to pilot them to the Dagobah system, no questions asked, albeit for a larger amount of credits than Ben had wanted to part with. He had left Luke and Ben haggling with the Duros – Luke drove a surprisingly hard bargain for his age – going to explore the area. Ben had given him a chrono and told him when and where he should meet them, and Evan had spent the time seeing the sights of the spaceport. He had taken a turbolift up the cliff to a small observation deck, and while up there he had lost track of time.

"Hey! Watch it!"

Evan spun around and saw… two Imperial stormtroopers. He froze, trying to think of a way he could get out of the situation.

"Stop right there! Hands up!"

Evan cursed internally the perpetual ability of Imperials to blow things out of proportion, and raised his hands. One of the stormtroopers pulled out a pair of stun cuffs, and the other prodded him with his E-11 blaster.

"You're spending tonight in the cells, buster."

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"Oh, Evan."

Luke glanced at Obi-Wan curiously.

"I am afraid, Luke, that our friend has gotten himself into a little trouble with the authorities." Obi-Wan gestured, and Luke followed his pointing arm towards two stormtroopers marching along past the hangar, with Evan sandwiched between them. Obi-Wan stood up from the bench and made his way over to the stormtroopers. Luke, he noted, stayed where he was, which was good.

"Officers. What seems to be the problem?"

One of the stormtroopers turned his helmet towards Obi-Wan.

"None of your concern, _citizen_. Move along."

Obi-Wan sighed, and surreptitiously waved his hand. "You will release this man at once," he intoned.

The stormtroopers turned to face each other. "We will release this man at once."

"This was all just a misunderstanding."

One stormtrooper removed Evan's stun cuffs, while the other patted him on the back and pushed him towards Obi-Wan. "This was all just a misunderstanding," they repeated.

"He can go about his business," concluded Obi-Wan.

"You can go about your business."

Obi-Wan pulled Evan to the side, and the stormtroopers continued past them. He waited until they had turned a corner before leading Evan back to where Luke was still waiting.

"I do hope you will explain just how you got into that situation once we are on our way."

Evan, still somewhat rattled by the encounter, could only nod mutely in agreement.

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 _A/N: As ever, do let me know what you think. Hopefully the next chapter will not put up so much resistance :p_


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: I don't know when the Car'das/Bpfasshi episode happens – it's not explicitly stated, except that it was after the Clone Wars – so I'm just going to say it happens here._

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Evan lay awake on the bunk, listening to the hum of the ship around him. He hadn't really had the time to _think_ properly since he'd arrived, and he now forewent sleep to do so. Why was he – someone completely unremarkable in the scheme of the Galaxy Far Far Away – in this situation? He knew that if he asked, Ben would probably say something like, "The Force moves in mysterious ways," and have no real answers, and he didn't really want to talk about it too much, because that would inevitably lead to a difficult conversation - one he didn't have the inclination to put himself through before he needed to do so. Could he get home? _Unlikely_ , his brain supplied. Evan supposed that the only person who could answer that question would be Yoda, once they reached him. So he considered a more immediately relevant question: how should he explain the situation with Anakin/Vader to Luke? That would be a hard discussion to have, particularly with a nine-year-old boy who didn't really understand or have much experience with the galaxy at large.

Evan shifted his body, legs straightening under the sheet. It would be unproductive – and wrong – to tell Luke anything but the truth, but how could he present it in a way that wouldn't encourage Luke to either hate his father, or recklessly search him out in a misguided attempt to redeem him. If Vader got his hands on Luke, there was no telling what might happen; the best-case scenario would be that Luke managed to win Vader over and bring him back to the light, but that was such optimistic thinking that he would be fooling himself. Far more likely that Vader would hand Luke over to the Emperor and let him be trained as a Sith, although Evan supposed that Vader might keep Luke a secret from the Emperor and train him or imprison him himself. He would have to present Anakin's fate to Luke in such a way that he could comprehend the fact that his father had once been a good man, and had the potential to be so again, but was at the moment irrevocably lost to the dark.

The hum of the ship around him changed pitch, and Evan sat up, but the bunkroom was still in darkness. He could see the outline of Ben on the bunk opposite, set into the wall. On the bunk above him was Luke, his chest rising and falling slowly as he slept. Evan relaxed back onto the not-quite-pillow and not-quite-mattress, and turned his thoughts in another direction: should he actively try and change the events which he knew would occur? Obviously his presence in this galaxy had already had repercussions, but it was still likely that the Death Star plans would be stolen at the same time, and Princess Leia imprisoned – although without Ben on Tatooine, they were unlikely to know that until far too late. Evan's resolve hardened at that point, as he remembered precisely what would happen once Leia was taken to the Death Star. He _had_ to stop Alderaan being destroyed. Although he knew it had garnered much sympathy for the Rebellion – or at least antipathy for the Empire – in many beings and cultures across the galaxy, it was an avoidable tragedy, and he had the foreknowledge to deal with it. Decisions made, he let his eyes close. The morning would bring Dagobah, and Yoda, and probably even more difficult conversations than he'd anticipated.

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Jorj Car'das shuddered as the Bpfasshi Dark Jedi who had commandeered his ship entered the bridge. Over the course of their journey from the Bpfassh system, where the Dark Jedi had first appeared, the Bpfasshi had grown more and more insane, torturing and killing the rest of the crew. Car'das hadn't been truly afraid many times in his life, generally being confident in his ability to handle the situation, but he knew that this was one instance where he was actually frightened that he might not make it out alive.

The Dark Jedi spoke, his rasping voice making Car'das wince unconsciously. "Dagobah is the next system through which we will pass. Set down on the planet there." He turned and swept out of the bridge, and it was only afterwards that Car'das noticed that his hands had already entered the orders into the ship's computer. _I have to escape soon, or soon I may not be able to do so!_

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The escape pod's repulsors hummed, slowing its descent through Dagobah's murky atmosphere. The captain had been reluctant to give them the escape pod, rather than set them down himself, but Evan supposed it was better this way bearing in mind Luke's disastrous sensor-blocked landing. He was, however, curious as to how Ben had known that such a thing might happen.

"Ben, why did you ask for the escape pod?"

The Jedi gestured towards the planet below. "A darkness has arrived on this planet. Master Yoda is fighting it, but I would not drag the ones who so kindly provided our passage here into such a danger."

Luke looked up at him. "But Master Yoda will defeat it, right? He's the greatest Jedi ever!"

As Ben reassured Luke, Evan racked his brains. This all seemed so _familiar_. Darkness, Dagobah, Yoda… _Ah-ha! Car'das and the Dark Jedi!_ Just as he opened his mouth to tell Ben what was happening, the pod shuddered horribly, and there was a jolt as it impacted the ground. Ben reached forward and disengaged the door lock, stepping out into the misty swampland. Luke followed, and Evan came to the door, peering out cautiously. The trees created a canopy above them, barely visible through the thick fog, and sunlight was completely absent.

Evan started to speak, but stopped again as flashes of colour became visible through the mist, and the clash of lightsabers could be heard faintly. Ben frowned, and drew his own lightsaber, but did not ignite it. "Tread cautiously. We shall keep our distance until I can discern what is happening."

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 _A/N: Minor spelling errors revised 16/12/17_


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Four months, huh? Sorry about the wait. It would have actually been longer, but I went to see The Last Jedi on Thursday night and got inspired, so I ended up finding time to write, and an internet connection, and you get a chapter ;)_

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Yoda noted, as he launched himself from the ground over the Bpfasshi Dark Jedi in front of him, that he was growing old. Oh, he'd noticed it before – one could hardly be a Grand Master of the Jedi Order for hundreds of years without learning to hear the remarks of padawans, Knights, and even the occasional Master – but now he _felt_ his age, as he had not truly felt it before. His limbs were slowing, and even with the Force to sustain him, he knew that the pinnacle of his fighting days was long behind him.

It was a relief, then, if extremely unexpected, to feel a familiar Force presence finally arriving, after the recent turmoil. With Obi-Wan Kenobi to help him, the fight would soon be over – it had already been the better part of a day, and the Dark Jedi was doing untold damage draining the life-force of some unfortunate smuggler on the ship nearby.

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Ben motioned for Evan and Luke to remain behind a large fallen log, and stepped past it towards the scene. Evan crouched next to Luke, who seemed all too eager to witness a proper lightsaber fight. Yoda was a blur, darting back and forth across the clearing, or leaping over his opponent's head; green lightsaber met red with dazzling flashes of colour. On the other side of the clearing was a ship, which could only belong to Jorj Card'das; Evan supposed that the man himself was crouching terrified inside the ship, hiding from the Force-wielders outside.

Without any warning, Ben ignited his saber and joined the fray, and Evan watched as the two Jedi Masters acted fluidly as one. After watching for a time, however, Evan realised that he would make far too convenient a target as innocent-bystander-hostage-material, even if the Dark Jedi had not used Card'das for that purpose, and ducked behind the log, pulling Luke down with him. After what felt like hours, but could only have been minutes, the clashes of lightsabers abruptly stopped, followed by a soft _thud_. Evan peered over the log, and saw Yoda nod to Ben, heading into the ship. Ben walked towards them, blocking Luke's view of the scene before he could stand up. Evan only had a glimpse of a headless body in dark robes before he turned his head away, and he forced himself not to think about it. _Anything else, think about anything else_.

"Come, you two. I shall lead you to Master Yoda's dwelling, and he will join us shortly."

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 _A/N: I know, I know. Way, way too short. But that's all I have time for, and the Internet connection won't be here forever. For those who are interested, the gap year is going well. Plenty of Star Wars fans about to chat with :) although lots of them haven't seen The Last Jedi yet, so I'm somewhat frustrated in my knowledge :p_

 _What did people think of The Last Jedi? Personally, I liked it very much. Way better than VII, especially since the allusions to V and VI were handled much more adeptly._

 _Remember, this story is technically_ _ **on hiatus**_ _– it'll be another few months before I write any more chapters._


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